We do a fair amount of systems at "altitude". Recently we had an issue with a Radian system at about 10,000'. An 8048 inverter screaming (fans running hard) with just 2000 watts of load. I hounded tech support for two years, and even after switching power modules, etc in the end the techs claim a fairly substantial deration (that I can't quote right now) of inverter performance because of cooling issues. We ultimately added another inverter to the system at the end of last summer. I hope this season we will see a better result. It makes sense, given the difference in air density, but I do scratch my head and wonder why we haven't seen such issues with the older FX's, and some of the older legacy systems?
I also know that the Midnite classic charge controllers seem to run the fans quite hard as well. I haven't had to replace any of the fans, and the controllers are performing great, but wonder if that will be an issue in the future. It would be great if some manufactures would give us a quality, competitively priced, equipment that is rated for altitude, but I don't think there are that many options out there as of now . Jay Pozner (970) 642-5554 www.nunatakenergy.com NABCEP Certified PV Installer: Cert.#031310-177 On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 9:17 AM Steve Higgins <st...@surrette.com> wrote: > Not to add fuel to the fire... and it's been almost 7 years since I've > been with an Inverter manufacturer so here is my .02 cents... So again, I > hope I'm not overstepping the boundaries of the Wrenches list. > > If I remember correctly the main issue with the high altitude installs are > some of the components that are used to build the inverter/controllers > aren't rated to be used at high altitude, one of the main components that > have this issue is the electrolytic capacitors. Of course, the specs > vary from component to component. I've seen some rated as low as 8000 ft > to some as rated as high as 30,000 ft. It really just depends on the > part(s) that the manufacturer used to build the product. > > As you gain altitude the temperatures and the air pressure decrease, as it > was explained to me years ago the problem is with the temperature decrease, > this will affect the capacitance of the capacitor. The colder temps will > reduce the overall capacitance of the capacitor, just like it will with a > battery. > > These caps are generally used to filter noise from circuits, so when these > fail, or the capacitance values fall, you don't get the filtering you need > and this induces noise into your circuitry possibly causing overall failure > or worse, the dreaded intermittent failure. Generally, if the > inverters/controllers are kept on and warm, you won't have too many > problems, it's when they are in extremely cold temperatures is when you > will start having issues. > > Hope this helps! Have a good weekend! > > > <http://www.rollsbattery.com> <http://www.rollsbattery.com> > <http://www.rollsbattery.com> <http://www.rollsbattery.com> > <http://www.rollsbattery.com> <http://www.rollsbattery.com> > <http://www.rollsbattery.com> <http://www.rollsbattery.com> > <http://www.rollsbattery.com> <http://www.rollsbattery.com> > <http://www.rollsbattery.com> <http://www.rollsbattery.com> > <http://www.rollsbattery.com> <http://www.rollsbattery.com> > <http://www.rollsbattery.com> > Steve Higgins ⋅ Technical Services Manager > t +1.902.597.4020 m +1.206.790.5840 > f +1.902.597.8447 e st...@surrette.com > <#m_-3008849777453347977_SignatureSanitizer_> > <http://www.facebook.com/RollsBattery> > <http://www.facebook.com/RollsBattery> > <http://www.twitter.com/RollsBattery> > <https://www.youtube.com/user/RollsBattery> > <https://www.linkedin.com/company/rolls-battery-engineering> > <http://www.instagram.com/RollsBattery> > <http://www.instagram.com/RollsBattery> > <http://www.instagram.com/RollsBattery> > ------------------------------ > CONFIDENTIALITY: The information transmitted herein is intended only for > the addressee and may contain confidential, proprietary and/or privileged > material. Any unauthorized review, distribution or other use of or the > taking of any action in reliance upon this information is prohibited. If > you receive this email in error, please contact the sender and delete or > destroy this message and all copies. > ------------------------------ > > > On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 7:47 AM <ch...@oasismontana.com> wrote: > >> Folks: >> >> >> >> The issue here ulltimately isn’t whether it works or not, it’s if it’s >> WARRANTED. Some purchasers (in this case the USFS) mandate that all >> equipment be warranted for high altitudes. And that leaves out several >> major suppliers. >> >> >> >> >> >> Chris Daum >> >> Oasis Montana Inc. >> >> >> >> >> >> *From:* RE-wrenches <re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org> *On >> Behalf Of *Ray >> *Sent:* Thursday, April 11, 2019 10:55 PM >> *To:* re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org >> *Subject:* Re: [RE-wrenches] High altitude off-grid systems >> >> >> >> We've had some systems at 11,000 ft plus, for almost 20 years. We have >> mixtures of Outback, Midnite, Blue Sky, and old Trace equipment. Never any >> issues with electronics related to altitude. Actually the altitude related >> system issues are generator derating, and array output exceeding STC >> ratings on really clear cold days due to the thin atmosphere. The third >> issue would be installers not being able to catch our breath after jogging >> back to the truck. >> >> Ray Walters >> >> Remote Solar >> >> 303 505-8760 >> >> On 4/11/19 3:39 PM, Dan Fink wrote: >> >> Hi Chris; I am deeply concerned about this as nearly 100% of the systems >> I install are at 8000 ft (2500m) or higher. I've never had a problem with >> warranty claims to Outback or Schneider up to this time. If this is a "new >> thing" I'd really like to know about it, on list or off. >> >> >> >> The alitude de-rate stuff seems to involve dialectric ratings on the >> transformer coils, and low air density for cooling. I think that's all in >> ANSI. >> >> >> >> >> Dan Fink >> >> Director of Solar Education, Greendustrial Training LLC >> >> IREC Certified Instructor™ for: >> >> ~ PV Installation Professional >> >> ~ Small Wind Installer >> >> NABCEP PV Associate >> >> Executive Director, Buckville Energy Consulting >> >> NABCEP Registered Continuing Education Providers >> >> dan.f...@greendustrialtraining.com >> >> 970-672-4342 >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 1:28 PM <ch...@oasismontana.com> wrote: >> >> Hi folks: >> >> >> >> I am curious as to how many of you sell/install battery/inverter systems >> at high altitudes? Have you had any particular issues with them? Last >> year we discovered (in a mostly costly fashion) that Schneider inverters >> (and also Outback) are not warranted above 6500 ft. >> >> >> >> Magnum inverters are warranted to 15,000 ft max altitude. >> >> >> >> Best, >> >> >> >> Chris Daum >> >> Oasis Montana Inc. >> >> 406-777-4309 or 4321 >> >> 406-777-4309 fax >> >> www.oasismontana.com >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance >> >> List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org >> >> Change listserver email address & settings: >> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> >> List-Archive: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html >> >> List rules & etiquette: >> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm >> >> Check out or update participant bios: >> www.members.re-wrenches.org >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance >> >> >> >> List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org >> >> >> >> Change listserver email address & settings: >> >> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> >> >> >> List-Archive: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html >> >> >> >> List rules & etiquette: >> >> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm >> >> >> >> Check out or update participant bios: >> >> www.members.re-wrenches.org >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance >> >> List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org >> >> Change listserver email address & settings: >> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> >> List-Archive: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html >> >> List rules & etiquette: >> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm >> >> Check out or update participant bios: >> www.members.re-wrenches.org >> >> _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List-Archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html > > List rules & etiquette: > www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > www.members.re-wrenches.org > >
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